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2002 was the third consecutive year for the KU-UTIA student
exchange program. Prior to their departure to Thailand,
the UT students participated in an intensive orientation program
that had covered a wide range of topics, including the technical
program, travel procedures, cultural cues and clues, food and
personal security issues. While the technical program
focuses on topics of agriculture and natural resources, it also
includes a substantial cultural context. The program's
heart, however, comes from the relationships and understanding
that develop between the KU and the UT students following the
KU students' arrival in Knoxville on April 19 for their four-week
travel-study tour in Tennessee. We hope that this
web page will convey to you some of the excitement and intensity
of this learning experience and the warmth of personal feelings
that grew in Tennessee and in Thailand. It is a program of friends
and colleagues working together for mutual benefit.
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Friday April 5
Orientation culminated with a Thai dinner co-prepared by
KU junior faculty members earning advanced degrees at UT and
the UT students heading off to Thailand.
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Friday May 31
10:45 pm Arrive Bangkok. Overnight at KU Home.
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Saturday
June 1
Morning: Visit the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Keow (Temple
of the Emerald Buddha) |
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Afternoon: A visit to Vimanmek Teak Mansion, former residence
of King Rama V and said to be the world's largest golden teak
building |
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Sunday June 2
Morning: Visit Bang Pa-In Palace.
Lunch hosted by the KU students at Kentucky Fried Chicken.
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Afternoon: Ayuthaya Historical Park. Dinner and evening
at the home of Mrs. Wan-Li
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Monday June 3
Morning: Campus tour. Courtesy meeting with the
President of Kasetsart University, Dr. Thira Sutabutra; Vice
President of the Sri Racha Campus and KU liaison officer
for UT, Dr. Songkram Thammincha; and other KU administrators,
faculty members and students that have previously visited
UT.
Afternoon: Drive to Kung Krabaen Royal Development
Project, located on the coast of Chantaburi Province.
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Tuesday June 4
Overview of the Kung Krabaen Royal Development Study Center
and site visits: Local development projects; mangrove ecology
and rehabilitation; marine cage aquaculture. |
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Wednesday June 5
Morning: Leave Kung Krabaen for the Chantaburi Horticultural
Research Center. Visit a local farmer's fruit orchard.
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Afternoon: KU's Trad Agroforestry Research Center. |
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Thursday June 6
Tour Baan Pred Nai's mangrove community forest protected
area. |
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Friday June 7
Depart KUTARS with stops in Chantaburi, Top's Orchard and
KU's Sri Racha Campus. |
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Saturday June 8
Morning: Overview of KU Sriracha Fishery Research
Station. Boat tour of research site for mussel cultivation.
Afternoon: Beaching
Evening: Pattaya.
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Sunday June 9
Visit Nong Nuch Tropical Gardens, Rayong. One of the
world's largest private palm gardens, formal gardens, cultural
presentation and elephant show. |
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Our next stop was the Sri Racha Crocodile
Farm. |
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Monday June 10
Depart Sri Racha for KU's Khampaengsaen Campus. Campus
Tour. |
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Tuesday June 11
Visit Central Laboratory, DNA Lab and Cowboy- land. Overview
presentations in the KU Faculty of Agriculture.
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Wednesday June 12
Morning: Visit the Floating Market at Damnoen Saduak
and tour intensive fruit and vegetable production area.
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Afternoon: Visit Nong Pho Animal Hospital and tour local
village dairy. |
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Thursday June 13
Morning: Visit Supa Orchid, Thailand's largest
commercial tissue culture operation. Nakon Chai-see. Followed
by the Thai Human Imagery Museum. |
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Afternoon: Fresh Meat Co., Ltd. (swine slaughterhouse
and meat-packing operation. Buddhamonthon Site
Evening: Dinner at Pon's [KU 2000 student group to Tennessee]
home. |
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Friday June 14
Morning: free time
Afternoon: Visit modern swine production facility
Evening: Farewell karaoke party sponsored by Dr. Seksom
Attamungkune, Associate Professor of the KU Department
of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture
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Saturday June 15
Afternoon in Nakhon Pathom. Pra-Pathom Chedi (the
largest Buddhist Pagoda in the world)
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Sunday June 16 Travel to KU Tab Kwang
Swine Research Station, located in Saraburi Province.
Hike to nearby temple and cave.
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Monday June 17
Morning: Visit Star Feed Co., a large feed mill owned
by Bangkok Produce Company, a subsidiary of Charoen
Phokpand (CP) Group. Visit CP Group - Meiji Co. (milk products
processing plant). Afternoon: Visit Bangkok Produce
Co. Poultry Processing plant (CP Group).
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Evening: The official Tab Kwang Station farewell karaoke
party with Dr. Naramit Sookmanee, Director. |
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Tuesday June 18
Morning: Visit CP Group Corn Breeding Station.
Afternoon: Travel to Farm Suwan, the National Corn and
Sorghum Research Center--briefing, tour and welcome party.
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Wednesday June 19
Morning: Visit Farm
Chok Chai, a vertically-integrated dairy and agro-tourism
enterprise. |
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Afternoon: Activities at Farm Suwan and visits to area
farms. |
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Thursday June 20
Morning: Depart Farm Suwan. First stop
was Boonrawd Farm's winery, followed by an unscheduled stop
at a cheese factory. Then on to Khao Yai National Park,
where there was an introduction presentation at park headquarters
and a nature hike.
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Following the nature hike, we chilled at the
canteen, picked off unwanted "guests," and had dinner
at our cabin. That evening there was a "night safari." |
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Friday June 21
morning: Another nature hike (~3 miles) through the
jungle--coool. |
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afternoon: Return to Bangkok.
Students join their host families. |
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Saturday, Sunday and Monday June 22-24
Homestay adventures |
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Tuesday June 25
Pathum Thani Rice Research Center, followed by the Golden
Jubilee Museum of Agriculture and Talaat Thai, the largest central
agricultural market in Asia. |
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Wednesday June 26
Morning: Visit the Royal Chitralada Project
(a large group of demonstration, agricultural-related projects
that are the concepts of the King) located on the grounds of
the King's primary residence, Chitralada Palace.
Afternoon: Shopping at Naribandhu Handicrafts Center.
Visit KU Faculty of Forestry. Dinner at the Faculty hosted
by the Dean, Dr. Utis Kutintara. |
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Thursday June 27
Morning: Visit KU Faculty of Agro-Industries.
Afternoon: Wrap-up Meeting, followed by Dinner and the
Farewell Party. |
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Friday June 28
Last chance to visit with friends and
shop.
Saturday June 29
3:30 am Leave KU home for the airport and the long
flight home. |
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